Category Archives: Humane Society of the US

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The horrible system created by Class B pet dealers could soon be a thing of the past. It would be one more step into the direction of stopping another cruel practice.

On his A Humane Nation blog, Humane Society of the US top dog, Wayne Pacelle stated earlier this week: “Of the two remaining Class B dealers, one had only four dogs in its most recent inventory and the other is facing formal enforcement action from the USDA.”

Pacelle also notes these dealers get the dogs they sell from “flea markets, shelters, auctions, and even the backyards of unsuspecting owners.” Many end up in research labs.

Thank you to the HSUS and to everyone who fought to make this happen. Hopefully, we’ll see a complete end to the Class B system very soon.

It’s another bad grade for the America Kennel Club and the current rubber-stamp system of inspecting breeding operations. The Humane Society of the United States reported yesterday on a breeding kennel in Mississippi, where a former American Kennel Club champion dog was founding living in feces.

Wild Bill, an Australian Cattle Dog had been living with 60 other dogs on what is being described as a puppy mill.

In the report on his Humane Nation blog, Wayne Pacelle states:

Some of the worst facilities wave around their AKC credentials like a badge of honor, and draw consumers away from better sources of dogs, such as animal shelters and rescue groups and responsible breeders.

As is the case in greyhound racing, when a dog is no longer making money, it becomes disposable for the puppy-mill industry.

We need a system of regular inspections by qualified inspectors in every state in the nation.

Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the US praised the accomplishments of one outgoing governor and the slammed the negative record of another, in a blog post on Monday.

Pat Quinn is out as governor of Illinois. His record on animal welfare was a solid one. Pacelle noted he vetoed a bill on the way door that would have opened up trophy hunting and commercial trapping of bobcats.

Last year, Quinn signed into law a ban on the possession, sale, or distribution of shark fins. He signed the state’s puppy lemon law and an antifreeze safety law. He also fought for restrictions on tethering and promoted non-lethal methods for law-enforcement in handling animals and pushed for a ban on the trade of primates as pets.

But as pro-compassion as Quinn was, Pacelle counters with the horrible record of out-going Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman. He vetoed a bill to ban the trophy hunting of mountain lions and fought to preserve the horrible use of battery cages for hens and gestation crates for pigs.

Heinman seems to be charter member of anti-science and anti-compassion clubs.

South Dakota becoming the 5oth US state to adopt a felony animal-cruelty law.

It is now a federal crime to attend or bring a child to a dogfight or cockfight.

The truly idiotic and evil “King Amendment” was tossed out of the Farm Bill.

A federal appellate court rightfully overturned a horrible ruling from a lower that might have tossed out the animal crush video law. If I recall, the lower court tried to claim that torturing and brutally killing animals was protected free speech. That’s one for the Moronic Court Ruling Hall of Fame.

So arguably the current leader for the Moronic Court Ruling Hall of Fame is Citizens United.

A number of countries have agreed to end the use of gestation crates for pigs.

Three horse-slaughter plants were blocked from opening this year.

A new U.S. Department of Agriculture rule blocks the importation of puppies for sale. This means at least foreign puppy mills can’t sell here.

Internet sellers of puppy now have to follow USDA guidelines. The HSUS helped to block a legal challenge to this ruling.

Better protections are in place for animals suffering through experiments in labs.

The World Trade Organization is thankfully supporting European Union’s ban on products resulting from the horrific Canadian seal hunts.

The wolf hunts were stopped in Michigan.

New York and New Jersey became the first states to banned the sale of Ivory. This one should become a federal ban.

And Pacelle states the “… International Court of Justice ruled that Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling program violates the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling’s ban on commercial hunting.”

There’s some very good news out of my home state of North Carolina. The Department of Agriculture has served notice to county municipal animal shelters that the use of gas chambers is no longer acceptable.

A vast majority of the state’s shelters had already stopped using gas chambers of horror to euthanized homeless pets. A WUNC article from December 9 reports the new standards in North Carolina match recommendations from the American Veterinary Medical Association, Humane Society of the United States and American Humane Association.

The AVMA changed its stance on gas chambers in 2013.

Because we know animals experience emotional as well as physical suffering, it makes the use of gas chambers particularly cruel. The animals certainly experience fear when they are stuffed into the dark chambers and then experience respiratory distress once the gas is turned on, until the end finally comes.

Too often, a group of animals are stuffed inside for a mass killing.

It is a horrible way to die. The only acceptable method to euthanize an animal is through injection. I long for the day when shelters no long euthanize animals. If only more more people understood the importance of sterilization and the importance of caring for their pets as a lifelong commitment.

It is very pleasing to see more attention being given to animal-welfare issues. Today, we have a Des Moines Register editorial concerning the weak level of protections for puppy-mill dogs in Iowa.

Of course, this is true for much of the country.

The Des Moines Register editorial writer notes puppy-mill breeders are often given a pass when dogs are found living in horrible conditions. At times, the breeder is only issued a citation and the suffering animals are left behind to continue to suffer.

A Human Society of the US report is cited, one that list the worst offenders in the country. It is disgusting to read how these people are allowed to continue to operate. In some cases, the offenders are actually allowed to deny access to inspectors.

The Humane Society of the US just released a statement concerning the actions of a federal court. A lawsuit that challenged the USDA’s new rules directed to the Internet sales of puppy mill puppies, was shut down by the court.

“We are delighted the court has thrown out this baseless lawsuit challenging USDA’s new rule cracking down on Internet sellers of puppy mill dogs,” said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president of animal protection litigation and investigations for the HSUS, in the press release.

“In a detailed opinion, the court concluded that the breeders ‘are barking up the wrong tree’ because ‘their complaints are more policy disagreements with APHIS’s regulatory approach than they are valid legal objections to APHIS’s authority.’

“Dismissing the breeders’ legal claims as ‘a dog that won’t hunt,’ the court granted judgment in favor of USDA and the HSUS – which intervened to help defend the rule because every large-scale operation should be inspected and every dog provided a bowl of clean water and enough space to move around.”

Add me to the list to animal-welfare advocates who are grateful to the court for flushing this nasty lawsuit down the toilet, where it belongs.